Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

NIH To Try To Cut Development Time For Drugs To Help Curb Opioid Epidemic

Health officials announced a public-private partnership that aims to more rapidly bring drugs related to treating those addicted to opioids to market. Meanwhile, Express Scripts is suing a drugmaker over its overdose medication, a look at how one letter to the editor helped shape the course of an epidemic, and more from the opioid crisis.

The Washington Post:
Health Officials Vow To Develop Drugs To Curb The Opioid Epidemic
Top federal health officials said Wednesday that they will launch a joint effort with pharmaceuticals companies to accelerate the development of drugs aimed at helping to curb the U.S. opioid epidemic. Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Nora D. Volkow, who heads one its components, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), announced a public-private partnership aimed at cutting in half the time ordinarily needed to develop new therapies. (Bernstein, 5/31)

CQ Roll Call:
NIH Outlines Research Partnership For Opioid Response
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health will collaborate with the drug industry to address aspects of the opioid abuse and overdose crisis, two agency leaders announced Wednesday. The main goals of the partnership will be to develop improved overdose-reversal and addiction treatments and researching non-addictive alternatives to opioid painkillers. Separately, the administration announced Wednesday it would make available funding first authorized nearly a year ago by a law to address opioid abuse. (Siddons, 5/31)

The New York Times:
Express Scripts Sues Maker Of Overdose Drug, Intensifying Feud
A company that manages prescription drug plans for tens of millions of Americans has sued a tiny drug maker that makes an emergency treatment for heroin and painkiller overdoses, increasing the tension between the companies that make drugs and those that decide whether they should be covered. Express Scripts, the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits manager, is suing Kaléo, the manufacturer of Evzio, the injectable overdose treatment whose price quintupled last year, drawing widespread outrage and inquiries from members of Congress. Express Scripts claims it is owed more than $14.5 million in fees and rebates related to Evzio, and it has dropped the drug from its preferred list. (Thomas and Ornstein, 5/31)

Los Angeles Times:
How A 5-Sentence Letter Helped Fuel The Opioid Addiction Crisis
Close to 200,000 Americans have died by overdosing on prescription painkillers, and a new report traces some of the blame to five simple sentences written nearly 40 years ago. The sentences, containing just 101 words, appeared in a 1980 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. They formed a letter to the editor that described a rudimentary analysis of 11,822 hospital patients who took a narcotic painkiller at least once. The vast majority of those patients tolerated the drugs without incident, according to Jane Porter and Dr. Hershel Jick of the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program. (Kaplan, 5/31)

Stat:
Kratom From A Vending Machine: People In Pain Flock To Sub Shop For Herb
These customers have been on heroin, hydrocodone, Oxycontin — and they swear that the greenish powder dispensed by this machine is what allowed them to escape their addictions. It’s called kratom. It is the pulverized version of a plant from Southeast Asia. And it’s got thousands upon thousands of fans, who credit it with everything from ending their opioid habit to treating their anxiety to controlling their arthritis pain. In a single hour, some five people stop by, and the servers say it gets even busier right around opening and closing. (Boodman, 6/1)

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